Here’s a transcript of the video.
Narrator: Lotus silk is one of the rarest fabrics in the world, produced on a small scale in Cambodia, Myanmar, and most recently, Vietnam.
This herbal fiber is only extracted through a few professional artisans around the world. But making this silk is easy. Extracting enough lotus silk for a shawl can take two months, and the final product can cost 10 times more than regular silk. So how is it made, and what makes it so expensive?
Phan Thi Thuan’s family circle has been making silk for generations, developing and collecting silkworm threads themselves to create luxury clothing. But making lotus silk is different. Silk normally comes from silkworms. They are stored in giant trays and will have to be fed almost 24 hours a day with mulberry leaves.
Caterpillars delicately weave threads to create their cocoons, and it takes many silkworms to produce a kilo of silk. But although insects require careful care, they do most of the work themselves. The main difference between bright yellow silk and the paler lotus edition is that each strand of lotus silk will need to be pulled by hand. Narrator: Each thread of lotus silk begins with the stem of the lotus flower.
The lotus is Vietnam’s national flower and a plant that’s grown across the country. While this fabric has been made for years in Myanmar, Phan Thi Thuan only started experimenting with this fiber in 2017. Narrator: Once the stem is selected and picked by hand, the silk inside can be extracted. Each stem contains a minuscule amount of thin, sticky fibers, which must be rolled together and dried.
The threads need to be processed within 24 hours while they’re still wet; otherwise, they’ll break. And so harvesting has to be done each day. And the lotus plants are only available to harvest between April and October. Once you’ve gone through the hard work of extracting these fibers, they’re incredibly delicate, too. Narrator: Once dry, these threads are carefully weighed down and delicately hand-spooled. Then they’re put into the loom.
These fibers are fragile, but once woven, they can be as durable as classic silk. Phan has a team of 20 people who create those fibers in one or two days, allowing them to produce 10 to 20 scarves in a month. But while a 10-inch shawl can sell for just over $200, the hard work is worth it. The final product is unlike any other fiber. It is comfortable like silk, breathable like linen and elastic.
These sumptuous features have made it popular with tourists to buy rare souvenirs. It has also recently been adopted through foreign fashion brands for new luxury fibers. But their scale remains limited, because few people are yet trained in making those silk threads. But despite the paintings involved, Phan Thi Thuan hopes that one day the capacity can grow into a larger industry.
Here is a transcript of the video.
Narrator: Lotus silk is one of the rarest fabrics in the world, produced only in small scale across Cambodia, Myanmar, and, more recently, Vietnam.
This herbal fiber is only extracted through a few professional artisans around the world. But making this silk is easy. Extracting enough lotus silk for one shawl can take two months and the final product can cost 10 times more than regular silk. So how is it made and what makes it so expensive?
Phan Thi Thuan’s family circle has been making silk for generations, developing and harvesting silkworm threads to create luxury clothing. But making lotus silk is different. Silk usually comes from silkworms. They are kept in giant trays and will have to be fed almost 24 hours a day with mulberry leaves.
Caterpillars delicately weave threads to create their cocoons, and it can take many silkworms to produce a kilo of silk. But while insects require careful care, they do most of the work themselves. The main difference between bright yellow silk and paler lotus edition is that each strand of lotus silk will need to be extracted by hand. Narrator: Each lotus silk thread begins with the stem of the lotus flower.
The lotus is the national flower of Vietnam and a plant grown in the country. Although this fabric has been made for years in Myanmar, Phan Thi Thuan did not begin experimenting with this fiber until 2017. Narrator: Once the stem is decided and picked by hand, the silk interior can be extracted. Sticky fibers that will have to be rolled together and dried.
Cables should be processed within 24 hours while they are still wet; otherwise, they will break. Therefore, the harvest must be carried out every day. And lotus plants can only be harvested between April and October. Once you’ve done the hard work of extracting those fibers, they’re also incredibly delicate. Narrator: Once dry, those threads are conscientiously weighed and delicately wound by hand. Then they are transferred to the loom.
These fibers are fragile, but once woven, they can be as durable as classic silk. Phan has a team of 20 people who create those fibers in one or two days, allowing them to produce 10 to 20 scarves in a month. But while a 10-inch shawl can sell for just over $200, the hard work is worth it. The final product is unlike any other fiber. It is comfortable like silk, breathable like linen and elastic.
These sumptuous features have made it popular among tourists as rare souvenirs. It has also recently been adopted by foreign fashion brands in search of new luxury fibers. But its scope remains limited, as few people are still trained to make those silk threads. But despite the paintings involved, Phan Thi Thuan hopes this skill can one day become a bigger industry.
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